Echolocation
by Aiko Isari
Summary: Between 01 and 02. After the return of her Crest, Hikari finds herself seeing Tailmon everywhere she goes, her and more. But when she decides to look for her, well, that's when everything gets weird. Cross with Xros Wars manga.
1. It'll Be All Right

1\. It'll Be All Right

"I'm seeing things again."

Yagami Hikari, in baggy pajamas and with messy hair, told herself this in an empty bedroom. Taichi, her older brother, was taking his shower, and their parents were watching television. She was alone, so she could risk saying something like this. No one would worry if she did, at least not to her face.

Because she had been seeing things. Some things. One in particular stood out, but only because she knew it so well.

Sometimes, wherever she walked, Tailmon walked with her.

She never looked over, which was sad, fitting in a way. But Hikari understood that, it was likely she couldn't see her.

That was how it had worked before.

"I'm not crazy," she told herself gently. Because it was true now. Up until a year ago, she could have been. But she wasn't, Koromon, the Digimon, Tailmon, all of them had proven that. They were real. So she wasn't crazy.

Maybe.

Instead, what was she? Weird?

Probably.

She placed a hand over her chest, the place where, only a week before, her crest had shined a warm pink. Now, it was gone, and she was left with a strange emptiness that was filled but not filled, there but with nothing. There was power with nowhere to go.

She yawned. It may not be a big deal. Maybe Onii-chan was seeing Agumon and just hadn't said anything.

That was unlikely, as sad as it was.

"Hikari, you can brush your teeth now." Said older brother walked back into their room, rubbing his drenched mop of hair dry. "Better hurry before dad runs in after his beer."

Hikari giggled and went to obey. Her problem was forgotten in the lieu of her evening routine, in the comfort of her family and their everyday life.

It came back to haunt her in her dreams, where her ears were full of songs.

When she woke the next morning, the song was still there. Warm and bright and something like fire. It made her think of her dear older brother. Speaking of which, she was going to have to tell him about this.

But how?

* * *

She went on to school, like always. She hung out with her friends, went to parties. She treated the world like it was ordinary because that was what you did as a child. You acted like everything was fine because it was. The music sometimes changed, but it wasn't too distracting to her. It was warm sometimes, and cold others. But there was always a dragon at the back of her mind whenever she thought about it.

"That's not Agumon," Taichi would say whenever she told him about it. He would laugh about it, of course, but there was always worry lining his face.

Hikari, unfortunately, was aware there was something to worry about. There always had been but as a toddler, she had never thought of that. Then again, no one could see it, so why worry?

For once she was home alone, as Taichi's soccer practice had run late. It was so quiet. Even the song was quiet. She refilled Miko's bowl, and then started at the gentle sound of a beep. The beeping came again, from her room. Without hesitation, Hikari went to see it.

Her Digivice beeped all the louder as she picked it up. By old impulse, she looked towards the balcony window. At her first blink, she saw herself. At her second, it was Tailmon. She walked towards it and placed her hand on the glass. Tailmon mimicked her, a little wide eyed but very solemn. That was her cat: sober but full of wonder. Vamdemon hadn't taken that away.

She blinked a few more times, and the spell was broken, leaving her staring at the city outside. The Digivice went silent. Hikari frowned to herself, confused. Tailmon had seen her that time. Did that mean she was coming here?

Then it was obvious, wasn't it? Hikari would have to meet her, somehow. Before she got catnapped, or something. But first, she had to tell Taichi. What if the other Digimon needed to come through too? They would all need to know.

So. That thought kept firmly in mind, Hikari went to do her homework. She saw her Digivice's screen flash green, but thought little of it, knowing it was not important until Taichi got back.

It wasn't, right?

* * *

 ** _A/N:_ ** I know, this was supposed to come out on the first of November but I'm at a con right now (taking a break because reasons) so I realized I should post this now. This is going to be a bit of an interesting fic. Spoilers for the Xros Wars manga if you haven't read it yet. if not, well, you're fine! Please leave a review, if you would be so kind.

Challenges: Tale in Fragments challenge, easy list 30, prompt 'handle', Diversity Writing Challenge (Digimon) I37. Write in the friendship genre, What if Challenge, and AU Diversity boot camp (expanded universe!AU) for the prompt 'home'.


	2. Keep Your Eyes Peeled

2\. Keep Your Eyes Peeled

"So," he began, laying on his bed. "Where do you see her?"

Taichi believed her. He believed her this time. This shouldn't have made her heart sing but it did. He sat up on the mattress, looking at her with all the love and worry he had when she was sick. Or busy, or any other time. He was more like mom than he thought. They both could get so clingy close.

"Usually," Hikari said, tugging at her hair and looking at her socks. She needed to get used to this; she was a Chosen Child now. Still, her hair was getting long. She needed to ask Mom to let her get it cut. "I see her in mirrors and windows and sometimes I see her walking across the street or jumping onto something. She never answers when I call though. I think she can't hear me. I don't know if I can never hear her. She never says anything."

Taichi frowned, tapping the goggles at his neck. He didn't want to jump to Koushiro. He wanted to make sure he knew everything so if they had to go to the group, there would be more than just a wild goose chase. "Hikari..." He hesitated at the rest of his sentence and Hikari prepared to droop. "Are you sure this isn't because of Diablomon?" The guy had been in the internet of the entire planet. Who knew what he could have messed with?

Hikari nodded, though she wasn't really sure at all. She just wanted to believe this was different. "I hear music sometimes. And my Digivice went off. You destroyed Diablomon, so..." So nothing. They didn't know what happened to Digimon destroyed in the internet, but it had to be similar to them being killed in the human world, right?

Taichi turned this over. "All right," he said, rising from his seat. "Here's what we're gonna do: we're gonna walk to Koushiro's place and you're gonna tell me if you see Tailmon or anything. Got it?"

Hikari smiled, feeling her heart swell once more. Without her Crest, it actually felt a little uncomfortable. "Thank you, Onii-chan!"

He mussed her hair in reply. "Come on, before it gets dark."

* * *

Taichi paused at a stoplight. "I forgot how far away Koushiro lived. How did he run here the other day? I didn't know he had that much adrenaline!" He thought about it and shrugged. "It must be all the soccer." _Knew I was a good coach if I got him to kick the ball._

Hikari couldn't help but giggle at the image. "Koushiro-san still plays?"

"A bit!" he said with a grin. "When I can drag him and Yamato outside."

Hikari could only imagine how those games went.

The light turned green and they made to cross. Hikari paused at the edge of the sidewalk. Her eyes spotted a flash of white. It dashed from view and Hikari felt a strange shudder run up her spine. "Tailmon..." She really needed to keep a tally chart

Taichi paused only to yank her out of the way of oncoming passerby. Then he dragged her up the street. "Come on, we'll tell Koushiro, and we'll chase her next time. Okay?"

Hikari nodded. It was hard to nod when she just wanted to _go,_ to find out what was going on herself, but the Chosen were a team. She couldn't do that. She knew that now.

But was Tailmon okay? Was she safe? Why was she here?"

"She's okay, Hikari."

Taichi grinned down at her. Hikari flushed. She needed to work on this, not worrying him. He always knew what to say, what to do. The others, Takeru-kun had said, trusted him so much. So did she. Still, though. She couldn't just accept that. Tailmon had gone through a lot because Hikari hadn't been there. She had to make up for that somehow.

She paused mid-movement, leaving Taichi to walk ahead for a minute. Then she ran after him, chasing the thought away with her footsteps.

No. This wasn't some kind of punishment. Hikari hadn't known. This was something else, something better, something important.

Tailmon didn't hate her at all. She would never see her again if she had.

The whistle bounced against her neck, trying to tell her otherwise.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Thanks Splos! Hope this keeps up the trend. It's a bit of a slow fic but it knows where it's going! This chapter is for the prompt - watch! Please leave a review if that's all right with you. Have a good one!


	3. Pump Up the Volume

3\. Pump Up the Signal

For a while, Koushiro didn't speak, merely typed at his worn out laptop. Hikari wondered if they should get him new parts for his birthday so he could make a new one. He'd like that, she hoped. He hadn't spoken at all since she had told him what she was seeing, and it was kind of uncomfortable to sit in a room with Taichi and silence at the same time.

Her brother must have agreed because he eventually said, "Koushiro?"

"Yes?" He didn't look up from his rapid fire typing.

Taichi scratched his head. "Uh… what are you doing?"

"Communicating."

"Well, not with us."

"No." Koushiro's agreement sounded more like a grunt than an affirmation.

Taichi glanced at Hikari and turned back. "Are you trying to get a hold of Gennai or something, then?"

"Or something, yes," Koushiro said, voice distracted. "He is not responding. I'm wondering if my messages are even sending at all."

Hikari frowned. She didn't know much about Gennai, had only really met him twice, but apparently he was usually like this. It wasn't even helpful, wasn't he supposed to help? "Do you think he'll answer soon?"

"I hope so." Koushiro turned away from his screen. "Hikari-san, is this like last year? Where we could vaguely see the Digimon on screen or on the ground?"

Hikari shook her head. "It's just Tailmon! Before, they were all one color and now I can see her clearly." She had seen enough of it to know the difference after all.

Koushiro sighed a little. "I'm not sure if that's better or worse… It's possible that it's a sign of the Digital World needing help, but since we can't see its severity from this side, it's difficult to say. For now, we just need to hope that it is nothing too serious. Have you always seen things like this, Hikari-san?"

Hikari hesitated. She wanted to lie because Taichi was in the room and he may not believe her. But he'd believed this, so… She nodded. "Since we first met Koromon all that time ago. Always." She bit her lip. "Nobody believed me though, so I figured it wasn't okay to keep bringing it up."

Taichi's expression was hard to read from this angle, but Koushiro nodded. "That would make sense." He gave Taichi an odd look. "We've never fully explored the meaning of your Crest, Hikari-san. 'Light'. There are a lot of traits associated with the light, and you've exhibited a lot of behavior that is out of the ordinary."

"She's not crazy, Koushiro," Taichi said, trying to smile at the sight of Hikari's complete befuddlement.

Koushiro flushed. "I wasn't saying that, Taichi-san, forgive me. I merely want to ascertain how deep this runs. It's possible that Hikari-san is a… medium for the Digital World, so to speak. She's always been aware, unconsciously, of things we have not been. It's possible the Digital World is sending us a message through her, like it did once before."

Taichi nodded but Hikari scratched her head. She didn't remember this, and she remembered the short time she had visited the Digital World with some clarity. "Um… when did that happen?"

"In Pinocchimon's forest," Taichi said, frowning worriedly at her. "When Yamato and I… when we started fighting."

"Oh." Hikari didn't remember that time period very well, but she did remember her brother's feelings, and Takeru-kun's. So sad. So angry. It had almost been a relief when Yamato-san had left for a while. When he had come back, his head was clear and he had been okay. They had won.

Back then… what had happened? A voice... she had heard a quiet little voice singing. It had seemed desperate, like a bird at the pet store. And she had followed it. And then…

Her head throbbed and she slipped from the bed. She barely felt her brother lift her up, couldn't hear his voice. Her Digivice had started to scream.

She opened her eyes (when had they shut?) and found Tailmon standing right there. Her partner was looking at her. Then, seconds later, she was gone.

This song did not fade. It grew louder and louder, mixed with a longing, airy warble.

" _The world is ending, and I feel fine..."_

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** Okay, for the record, this has been done for a while. unfortunately, I haven't had much time or energy to post anything because school. The middle and end of the semester are basically designed to kill you slowly, just to let all of you who aren't in college yet know. Also, I have a lot to post so if some of it doesn't go up today, it might go up tomorrow after the stuff I have to do. Anyway, please drop a review and everything and thank you to those you have!


	4. Door Is Open A Crack

4\. Door is Open a Crack

Hikari couldn't see.

This fact should have been a bigger deal but the fact was that not only could she not see, she also could not move and that was a _lot more_ terrifying. She could barely feel Taichi's arms around her for the few seconds they were there because then they were not there. Koushiro's room had faded around her into what seemed like everyone's idea of a black hole in space.

" _Hello.."_

She wished she could move, could tilt her head. That voice made an ache grow in her chest, so wild and raw, like ripping off a bandaid. She knew that voice. She knew it like her worn bandanna.

 _"Hello there… can you hear me?"_

She managed to blink. Yes, she could hear. Couldn't move, couldn't see, but she could hear.

Wizarmon.

It was him; she was sure. And yet it wasn't. His voice was too distant, too confused. If it was him, he did not know her.

 _"I can hear you,"_ she thought. She wished she couldn't. The pain rubbed at her chest. if it was tailmon, it would be easier. _She_ would know.

A pause. Then there was a delighted little noise, like some kind of laugh. _"How_ fascinating. **.."** Another pause. _"You are connected to us somehow. Through me, perhaps… no, too unlikely. We are not related in the slightest. Who are you?"_ He was so curious, she had never seen this side of him before.

 _"Hikari."_ Her mental voice sounded so strong, like Taichi would want.

 _"That is a beautiful name."_

Hikari wanted to shut out her ears because the words didn't sound like Wizarmon at all. He didn't think about things like that. He thought about Tailmon and the world.

 _"You know Tailmon!"_ Delight tickled her brain and with it more curiosity. So much of it. It was rather heavy. _"That must be why we can hear each other, yes that would explain it. Where are you? I must pursue this. Perhaps this is where we need to go. You must wait for us. It's so important. For our world and yours… understand?"_

 _"I… I think so."_ She didn't understand the details but she got the idea. He, and whoever was with him (maybe Tailmon? Yes, yes, please yes, they needed more time!), needed to come here. And she needed to wait, but why? Why were they coming? Was someone going to hurt them?

She wished she could see, could be _sure_ that it was the kind Digimon she knew.

He smiled, or at least, Hikari imagined that she did. _"Wonderful. Well then, let me-"_

She never learned what it was he was about to do, because the air rippled around her and the connection cut. She could see again, and wiggled her fingers to see if they would move. They did and Hikari looked around. Her brother and Koushiro were nowhere to be seen still, so wherever she was, it was not Earth.

A man stood there in front of her, red eyes fixed on her like she was the biggest surprise he had ever met.

"Hello." She wanted to back away; she had no idea why. But she kept her chin up, and didn't. "Can you tell me where I am? I need to go back."

He regarded her, and it was almost like he could see into her soul. Maybe he could. He didn't seem human. "You shouldn't do this."

"Do what?" No, not more cryptic words, she didn't have time to decipher them.

"Stop this." He gestured with one arm, an arm that looked more like a machine part than a limb. "Change the ending. You can. You have the power, but you shouldn't."

"Why?"

"Because it will still happen." His voice was patient, but it was also tired, so tired. "Humans and Digimon can no longer dream."

"Sure we can. We will." This person had never met a Chosen Child. They must never have met her brother, or Takeru-kun, or even her friends that weren't Chosen. Of course people could still dream.

"No, you can't." His red eyes glowed, so strong and so tired.. "You are young, small-minded. Perhaps earlier it was possible, but no longer. Don't interfere."

Something lunged in the dark and wrapped around her arms and legs and covered her eyes and it _hurt._ Even her screams were covered up by the inky oil of the monster as it opened twisted red eyes and stared at her.

" _The world is ending,"_ it sang. _"And I feel fine. Don't you?"_


	5. Because We Are So Clumsy

5\. Because We Are So Clumsy

"Hikari! Hikari, hang in there!"

"Sir, you are being too loud..."

"I don't care about that!"

Taichi. Nii-chan's voice. She should move, needs to, ought to, but she can't. Her head ached too much. There were other noises too, low murmurs that reminded her of pneumonia.

Hikari had always had a high pain tolerance (barring hair pulling) since she was little. It had barely hurt when she'd dropped from Agumon's back and the one time when she coughed so hard that there was a cracking noise during one of her colds. So she was able to squirm right now, moving against the itch of the paper where she lay and try to get off. The darkness covering her eyes began to recede, though she swore she heard something cackling beneath her spine. She didn't like it, not at all.

"Onii-chan..." she croaked out, managing to blink at long last. Oh the relief. She could see white, clean ceiling, smell the familiar (she didn't like knowing it so well) scent of the hospital rooms, antiseptic. She grimaced and shut her eyes again.

"Be careful, Yagami-chan," murmured a voice, probably that of a doctor. She didn't know for sure since she had yet to open her eyes a second time. "Your brother said you took a nasty fall off of his friend's bed."

"Hikari..." Taichi's voice sounded so guilty. Again.

She managed to open her eyes and smile at him. Her brother had that strange face again, all frantic and warm and scared. "I'm okay..." she said. "Just got dizzy…"

"It's a mild case of dehydration that caused it, I suspect," the doctor said. "She should be all right after some rest and more fluids."

Taichi moved, his body a blur of blue. He must have bowed, because his voice was muffled for a moment. "Thank you very much!"

Hikari tuned out what happened next, trying to word what had happened as best as she could. Thinking about the whole thing made her muddled. A Digimon, an old man that looked so sad, older than Gennai and so tired… he wanted her to stop doing… whatever it was she was doing. Or stop her from doing what she could do. That was silly. She was a Chosen Child. If there was something she could do, she would do it. That was what Onii-chan would want her to do. That was what he would do. But first, Wizarmon. Yes, she needed to talk about him, didn't she?

"Hikari?"

She opened her eyes to find her brother looking over her. "What happened?" he asked. "Mom and Dad will be here soon. Are you all right?"

Somehow those sentences were very out of order. "A lot," she said, and started to explain. When she had finished, Taichi's eyes had grown thoughtful, still worried, but thoughtful.

"You're sure it's Wizarmon?" They had no clue what happened to Digimon after they died in the human world. What if it was different?

And what if it wasn't _their_ Wizarmon?

Hikari felt her head spin and clutched at it. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan." She couldn't answer him because of those questions.

Taichi managed a smile of his own. "Not your fault. The Digital World just likes makin' me mad."

Hikari giggled. It really did.

* * *

In the middle of a crowded bridge, there was a bright flash of light and two thumps. "Ow," muttered one, groaning in pain and trying to ignore the gasps of surprise of passerby. "Someone should have warned us about the landing."

"The Digital World had a worse landing, don't lie." The second rolled themselves to land on his back. "Anything broken, Akari?"

"Aside from my brain for agreeing to this?" She laughed wearily. "No, Taiki, I'm fine."

Taiki raised an eyebrow. "… Close enough, I guess."


	6. Deja Vu Isn't Great

6\. Deja Vu Isn't Great

Sometimes, Taichi thought their parents went a little overboard with Hikari.

They _should_ worry about her, after all he worried. She did some stuff that was about as bad as what he did, only worse because she was smaller and more frail. Or something. That was what he was supposed to do. He was the big brother. He was the reckless, over-fun one.

Still. She could walk after her fall, had proved it. She could speak, had proved that. His panic was not the reason to carry her to the car. But they had done it anyway and now she was curled up in bed, staring at the wall. She'd been doing that more and more these days, since the dreams started, since the Digital World even. He could see it in her face, this exasperation of why are they doing this?

"They're just worried," he voiced aloud, sitting next to her.

She nodded, though it was half-hearted. "They're always going to be worried."

"They're less worried you'll crack your brain than they are with me." He laughed at the image of Taichi Brain Scrambled Eggs. It was a luxury meal!

She smiled a little. "That's because they trust you with a soccer ball."

"True." Taichi touched her hair and she didn't pull away, which was pretty good. "What if Digimon stuff happens?" Her question was solemn, tired even.

Taichi frowned. "Then I'll protect you and we'll get to the others and save the world again." Simple to him. Then again, he wasn't Koushiro and the many contingency plans of Jyou. He needed to work on that.

Hikari shook her head. "But they don't want that. mom and dad I mean. And..." She bites her lip. "What if it's not 'us'?" _What if it's me?_ What if it was her selfish wish after failing to be around when she needed to be?

Taichi heard the question and wished he hadn't, because he didn't want to think about it. It was still, to him, bad that _Takeru_ , who was with everyone, had been given the wonderful burden of watching someone, his partner, die to save all of them, and Hikari had already lost a friend once, saving them. The fact that she may have to go through it again, could even have to do the same thing _again_ , by herself, was like sticking a fork in him and expecting him to be fine with ripping it out and mopping up the mess.

"I dunno," he admitted and, years later, he'd probably come to regret that. "But I won't _not_ get involved, and the others won't _not_ try to get in the way. We're Chosen too, all of us, we chose this." Hikari relaxed a little, and he continued. "And if we can't, I'm not worried about the world. You've been here before, and you and Tailmon are a good team. You'll do what you've gotta do."

"Cause I'm your little sister," she finished. Taichi laughed.

"It's them Yagami genes, Hikari."

* * *

It wasn't part of the investigation.

Tailmon had to remind herself of this every single second she walked through Odaiba. It wasn't a part of the investigation to find Hikari's apartment and it was a very good thing that Taiki didn't mind. Then again, Taiki minded very little as long as it wasn't about him personally. Tailmon had probably noticed that before his friends had.

"You really think she can help us?" Akari was the skeptic, had to be. Her friend spent too much time getting concussions for her not to be.

"She's little, but she's strong," Tailmon replied, avoiding looking at Wizarmon. She'd been down that hopefest too many times to expect recognition. "And her friends are like her. They'll have more luck with helping us than just us looking this up." Not that they even knew where to start.

Akari seemed unconvinced but as they neared the mansion, Tailmon couldn't bring herself to care. Her paws tingled and she could barely wait for the elevator.

Hikari! She was going to see her! It was dangerous, but that was fine! She would be able to protect her again!


	7. Being Full of Vigor

7\. Being Full of Vigor

The knock at the door startled everyone in the Yagami house. Hikari snapped up from her doze, eyes wide.

Taichi was starting to think that their Digimon gave them some of their habits. He tended to fall asleep more easily in the sun, Yamato was starting to be obsessed with jackets, Koushiro was a better liar than he used to be, and Hikari acted like a cat. Also Mimi's love of pink had extended to her hair.

Still, there was someone there, and it was close to bed time. Not normal, and even Koushiro had figured to at least call about it.

He heard his mother open the door. "Yes, how can I help-" She shrieked in surprise. "Tailmon?"

What. "What?" Taichi looked at the doorway.

There was a sheepish, quiet laugh. "I guess you all know each other."

Hikari rolled from the bed and bolted out of their room, Taichi at her heels. They stopped to see a boy and a girl in the doorway and crouched by the boy's foot was indeed, Hikari's familiar cat. Hikari squealed with love and joy and Taichi stepped back to let Hikari have her moment. Tailmon barely waited for that before leaping to the girl's arms. She had had the least time with her Digimon. She had spent every minute since meeting her Digimon on the run for her life until it was almost over. He bit his lip and shook his head. He had been in the internet with Agumon. Hikari needed this.

Instead, he looked up, regarding the two older kids. The girl was talking to someone out of sight, but the boy's eyes met his. The smile was just as sheepish as the laugh, though he saw tanned fingers creep towards a strange holster at his waist. Taichi glared and the smile didn't waver.

Huh. Older sibling protectiveness didn't work on him. Good to remember.

Hikari had noticed them as well, but was more focused on Tailmon, who was practically collapsed into her arms. Her Holy Ring gleamed in the lights as her tail swished.

"Um..." Yuuko broke the moment with wringing hands and motherly fear. She looked at Taichi, who gave her a helpless shrug. "What exactly is going on here?"

The boy's face fell. "We were hoping we could ask you all for help on that." He took a deep breath. "You see, our realworld and digital world, they're at war. We came back to the human world to find some answers, but-"

"Wait." Taichi couldn't help interrupting. "You're from the Digital World."

"No," the girl replied, turning around to pay attention. "We got dragged there by this guy's hero complex." She jerked her thumb at her friend, who had the decency to flush.

"He was crying for help, Akari..."

"Cheh," grumbled a voice from seemingly nowhere. "You could make it sound less pathetic than that."

The boy laughed and even Akari cracked a grin. Then they both sobered, looking at each other. "The problem is that we may have gone a bit too far..."

"The space time between worlds can be wonky at the best of the times," commented a low voice. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He hadn't seen the speaker much, but he knew that voice. "We should count ourselves lucky we got here in this situation."

"You're such an optimist," Tailmon murmured as the final speaker entered the room.

Wizarmon scratched behind his hat. "Well, this sort of science isn't exactly positive."

Taichi stared. "What are _you_ doing here?"


	8. The Dawn is Sometimes Slow

_For the prompt: grieving_

* * *

8\. The Dawn Is Sometimes Slow

"You're… not dead after all." Hikari's voice was slow in some surprise.

"I… suppose not?"

Everyone considered in the Yagami family was around the coffee table. The two other humans settled on the floor like floors were better than chairs. To them, they probably were after months in the Digital World, or however long. Hikari could understand. She was still uncomfortable in school chairs.

Wizarmon was seated on the couch next to Hikari, who seemed determined to not look at him for too long. Not that Taichi could blame her, especially when the guy seemed unduly fascinated with looking at _her_ , despite not recognizing her at all. That wasn't weird at all, nope.

"Well," Tailmon murmured from Hikari's lap. "He did, technically. I've just been able to find most of it. He's hard to locate."

Wizarmon shot her a puzzled look and then shook his head. "Anyway, back to before. The many Zones of the Digital World are at war in our current timeline. There has always been some semblance of separation in the various areas of the Digital World, via the Net Ocean or simple barriers or continental borders. The Zones could be argued as a literal separation by the worlds themselves."

Taichi stared for a moment, jaw agape. Then he groaned and rubbed his head. "I'm going to get Koushiro over here."

Tailmon sighed, rubbing her head into Hikari's chest. "Sorry. He does this a lot."

Taiki and Akari laughed and Taiki shook his head a little, taking up the explanation. "The thing with the human and digital worlds, from what we've guessed, is that they are connected, but not necessarily parallel. We can change each other, but it might be more from our end at certain times or more from theirs at others."

"Like the Digimon causing strange weather patterns and appearing here?" Hikari thought she understood that. She had seen it. She had felt it.

Taiki raised a surprised eyebrow, but nodded. "I guess that would be right." He scratched his head. "We didn't really have Digimon appear around us, unless you count Shoutmon's ghost or, well, his melody to be more specific."

"I wasn't dead!" The device on Taiki's belt yelled in indignation.

Taiki tapped the device in its holster, causing it to go quiet. He looked about the room, eyes taking in each befuddled expression "So, you all know nothing of this."

"Last thing we fought is a Diablomon inside the internet," Taichi replied, replacing the phone in its cradle. "And some other stuff, but we were on ice for mosta' that."

"Did we go that far back in time?" Akari's formerly exasperated face was turning grey and somber and wilted. "I don't think my mom is even an adult yet."

"The Code Crown must have sent us to this point for a reason." Wizarmon mused to himself. "Or perhaps for someone."

Hikari blinked at the Digimon looking at her. He was very intent on her again, and the intensity made her head spin. "Eh?"

"You suddenly heard me, and glimpsed Tailmon here when she most certainly was with us." Wizarmon gestured. "It's quite possible that _you_ brought us back here, or that you are the reason that we will find the answers to our questions. Otherwise, why else would you have heard us before we even arrived?"

Taichi cracked his glass of water.


	9. The Reality is Complicated

9\. The Reality is Complicated

Their parents weren't taking this well.

Not that Hikari had expected them to. None of Taichi's assertions, and her own bravado, could encourage them to think of her beyond that of being a child. Sure, she had been on an adventure before, and Taichi too, but they hadn't been able to stop them back then. Now they could and why shouldn't they? Taichi was trying to convince them, hands waving in slight exaggeration.

"You have good parents."

The boy. Taiki. She hadn't heard him come in. Hikari thought of Taichi whenever she looked at him, except quieter, a bit more closed off than her big brother. But then again, Taichi had always been an open book to her.

Hikari sat up on her bed, trying to tune out the not-so-hushed discussion on other side of the bedroom door. "Un. Silly though."

"Adults are like that," he said in a sage voice. "My mom would probably be really terrified if she knew what I was doing right now. She probably just figured I was going to help out around town, like I usually do."

Tailmon purred at Hikari's touch, twisting to doze as Hikari's nails scratched her ears. "It's not that easy," she said. "To let us go. They're supposed to protect us."

Taiki smiled. "She's right about that. The thing is… supposed to doesn't mean it will happen." He sighed. "We're supposed to do a lot of things, and when we grow up, we realize things don't really work like that. Or…"He looked outside, shaking his head "No, that's not it. It's more that we need to do work to make those things happen, and they may not anyway. So while we're kids, while it's still easy, we should make stuff happen, right?"

Hikari thought about this as Wizarmon and Akari spoke in whispers outside on the balcony. "Un."

"That's why you're going to help, if you want to, right?"

Hikari nodded again. "Nii-san…?"

"Hm?" He seemed surprised at the address but didn't do more than smile it away. That really seemed weird, come to think of it

"Do you think I can do something?" Taiki frowned in curiosity and Hikari stroked Tailmon's back, enjoying the feel of her fur rising and falling. "I… everyone, all the others, forgot about the Digimon after they left a long time ago, except me, but… when they called us, I couldn't do anything. I got sick, and the others left..." She swallowed and took a deep breath. When she exhaled and blinked her tears away, she continued. "I didn't know anything about this destiny until Tailmon. Until she came to me. And when we went to the Digital World again, I wanted to do anything I could. But I'm not sure it meant very much. We're parts of a whole and that's good, but..." She trailed off. She couldn't think of what to say.

"But you want to help, right?" Taiki looked up at the ceiling. "I don't see why you can't. We've just met but just from these few minutes, I can tell you've got a strong heart. I think it's up to you to decide if you can use that strength or not."

Hikari nodded. She wasn't really sure where to start with that.

Akari opened the door. "Taiki, come on. Wizarmon said he found a good place to investigate."

Taiki jumped to his feet,eyes bright and eager. "Is it a place we can keep the Digimon out?"

She shook her head. "Probably not, but there's not much we can do when it's this late." She looked over at Hikari. Her face softened visibly as she smiled. "Your brother's going to contact your friends in the morning, so we can work together and figure this out."

Taiki nodded. "Listen to Akari, she's smarter than me."

Akari rolled her eyes and gently thwacked him on the back. "See you tomorrow, Hikari-chan."

"Un..." She was left with Tailmon in her room. Hikari laid back on the floor. This was too fast, much too fast.

But she could do better now. This would make up for not being there with Diablomon.


	10. Throw the Wool Over

10\. Throw the Wool Over

Hikari woke to a hissing in her ears. It was like a snake inside of a static filled television. She rolled to see Tailmon sleeping in a content ball on her pillow. Not her. She could hear Taichi snoring. It wasn't him.

More hissing. More noise. Hikari curled back under her blankets. She didn't want to get up. It was warm. If she ignored it, maybe she could sleep through the hissing sleep through the danger.

No, there was no way she couldn't. Not if she could quiet it. Hikari crawled out of bed, eyelids heavy. She needed to rest. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to pay attention tomorrow. But this thing wouldn't let her rest. Her feet touched the carpet and the hissing changed. It seemed more cajoling now. She stepped with care, expecting the shadows of the room to lunge.

Digimon gave a person a new reason to be afraid of the dark.

However, nothing leaped from her bedroom wall. Instead, it coiled from behind the balcony door, swaying in the wind. Hikari hesitated, then slipped the door open. She eased it shut as quietly as possible, pressing her back against the glass. Perhaps her brother would see it.

"Who are you?"

It hissed and yipped, dripping into the shadow created from the streetlights. **"Despair."** It didn't speak, but it slithered in her mind, so many words but that one was the clearest. **"The creator wishes for you to stop. We have one black witch. We don't need a white one."**

"I'm not doing anything," she said.

 **"You will,"** it said, certain as nighttime. **"The Speaker has used you before. It will use you again. You must stop what you are doing. Let the worlds fall to sleep."**

"Why?" Hikari kept her voice as quiet as she could. It was stuck in her throat. She really just wanted to shout. "Onii-chan and the others… all of us saved the world. Why can't we save it?"

 **"Because you humans are the ones who are destroying it."** Hikari blinked and the red eyes drew very close to her. The teeth gnashed near her left ear and she jumped. **"Humans… are the sources of power for our world now, our world is so much bigger than you could ever see… and just as you are our power, you are also our killer."**

It slithered away. **"In our future, your dreams don't mean anything. They do not exist. It is better to simply stop fighting now, spare yourself that agony."**

Hikari opened her mouth and closed it. There was something wrong with that argument. She had to stop… but things were going down the sad path anyway. They didn't want her around, but humans were already causing bad things to happen.

"But..." Hikari chewed on her lip. "If… If this bad thing, the end of the world, is going to happen no matter what, then why do you care what I do? If people getting involved gets in the way, then..."

She stopped speaking at the sound of a painful shriek. The creature had thrown back its head and shut its many eyes, howling like Apokarimon.

"Fool!" it wailed and within that voice were others, screaming of the color white and sadness and things Hikari couldn't put to words.

Then her vision went dark as the creature wrapped around her. She was pulled from the ground before she could even scream and within seconds the moon was suddenly much closer than it used to be. The monster coiled around and around her, hissing of her stupidity. Then it was gone, and she was falling from the air.

She barely managed to scream before a red blur caught her. "Yeesh, kid!" crowed the Digimon's voice. "And I thought _I_ got into trouble."

Hikari opened her eyes to see big blue ones bright with mirth and worry. Above them, Tailmon was clawing at the creature. She leaped away and flipped to the side, landing on the railing. Her brother was running down the stairs.

Shoutmon dropped to the ground as Taiki ran up to them. "You okay?" he asked.

Hikari tried to relax, breathing coming in sharp bursts. "Y-Yeah, just got..." Just nearly fell off a building. She knew what he was asking. "He-He didn't do anything else."

"That's something," Shoutmon muttered. "Stupid perverts."

Hikari wasn't sure if she wanted to understand.


	11. Allies Sometimes Taste Bitter

11\. Allies Sometimes Taste Bitter

The shade had gone by the time Hikari had been carried up to her brother. Taichi patted her down and she let him. The shock of nearly being thrown from the balcony had made her tired, and she heard nothing of the conversation, drifting off to sleep almost immediately.

When she woke, Taichi was nudging her shorts over her knees. She swatted sleepily at his hand. "'M okay," she mumbled.

"Considering you nearly got killed, I'm not gonna believe you." Her brother's voice was teasing, but she was sure if she opened her eyes, his own would be chocolate rivers. She opened her eyes anyway and smiled, pretending not to notice.

"I'm okay." She sat up to prove it. "Let's go! I don't wanna be late!"

Taichi laughed. "Yeah, let's do this adventure!" He punched the air then paused. "When Koushiro gets here. He said he wanted to try Gennai first but he probably ain't gonna get anywhere with it."

Hikari nodded, going to continue getting dressed. Koushiro arrived twenty minutes later, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Of all of the times," he said to them, red hair a bit frizzy. "Where are we meeting these two?"

Taichi called something to their parents before he ansnered. "They said the park. They figured it would look a little more normal. Though if they're there after last night, it'll be a miracle." Apparently he had chose _not_ to tell the parente about Hikari's near-death experience, which she was grateful about. They would have taped her to the bed.

Koushiro nodded at her. "You're doing well, Hikari-san?"

Hikari smiled and nodded. She liked the way Koushiro spoke, it was as close to an adult as someone could get without being patronizing. "Mm… what's happening with Gennai-san?"

Koushiro sighed, adjusting his laptop bag. "To be honest, I can't say. My messages are getting through… it's possible he's merely not reading them… but why is my main concern. Does he believe we can solve this ourselves? Or could he not be able to answer… there are too many unknowns for me to say for certain."

"Un." Taichi was listening to them with half an ear, and Koushiro paused to collect himself. "You think he can't help?"

"I do." He shook his head. "It's better than thinking he won't." He seemed about to say more when they caught the sounds of two people talking. It wasn't quite the Taichi and Yamato level arguing that Hikari knew, but it was relatively close.

"This isn't going to work."

"Why not? You said you were certain they had battle experience."

"Battle experience, not whatever _this_ is."

"If you understand it, then what's the problem?"

 _"Kiriha,_ " Hikari picked up the sigh in Taiki's voice. It was hard not to. "The oldest is twelve."

"Are you saying age has something to do with experience?"

"It does when you're basically asking them to perform recon over this entire area. We've seen maybe three of them. Even with us, you're asking for the impossible."

"Where'd your faith go?"

Another sigh. "Please don't make me answer that."

Taichi blinked. "I think I've heard this somewhere before."

Koushiro hid his eyes as Tailmon let out a small snort. Hikari hushed her, trying not to giggle. Tailmon shot her an incredulous look and left her arms, going to greet an observing Wizarmon. Taiki turned from the person he was talking to, a blond male, and smiled at them.

"Good morning! Everything all right?"

"Big, dark, and crazy never made a reappearance," Taichi replied with a grin. "So there's that. Who is this guy?"

Hikari mentally sighed. Her brother… sometimes she wondered about him.

Taiki tried to smile, but his eye twitched as the blond snorted, turning away. "This is Kiriha. He's a friend of ours… sort of."

"Che!" Kiriha scowled. "That is such a loaded term."

"Yes, yes..." Taiki sighed. "We were debating where to begin the investigation today. He wants to get started but..."

" _He_ ," Kiriha finished. "Thinks that's a dumb idea."

"Because it is," Akari muttered. "We aren't going to save Nene-san by running off with nothing, Kiriha."

He glared at her, and she glared right back.

Hikari giggled aloud before she could stop herself. These guys were funny.

It was just like the others, wasn't it?


	12. The Knight of the Alleys

12\. The Knight of the Alleys

Hikari grimaced as Tailmon shifted on her head. "Be careful..." They had separated into groups to search, Koushiro waiting in a cafe for any results. He may have been more active in the Digital World, but that didn't mean he liked it.

"Sorry… it's just hard to see."

Hikari pouted a little, lips quirking at the edges. "Tailmon..."

"You aren't tall Hikari, neither am I," her partner reminded her.

"Even so..." Hikari wasn't exactly proud of her lack of height. Her brother's hair made it bad enough. "I want a growth spurt too..."

Akari muffled a laugh into her hand. "I know the feeling. Don't worry, you'll soon grow and absolutely hate it."

Taiki chortled from beside her at that. "She says that but she likes her brothers short," he muttered.

"So I can punt them across the room."

Hikari giggled and the weight eased off of her chest. She couldn't imagine being Taichi's older sister. He'd cause too much trouble even for her! She sobered as Taiki paused, holding his Xros Loader (such a weird name for a Digivice, who made that one up?) out like a music player. "What are you looking for again?"

"A Digimon's melody," he said quietly. "Kinda like, their essence or something similar."

"Wizarmon believes there may be others here, seeing as Taiki heard his partner in this way." Tailmon adjusted herself again. "But we're not sure of how likely that is, seeing as it was only dying Digimon that he heard."

Hikari frowned, but Taiki smiled it off. "If we can find living Digimon here," he said. "they might know what's going on."

Hikari nodded. She guessed if there was a digimon here that could hide itself that well, they would have to be as small as Tailmon, because they would have been caught by now if they weren't. Or maybe it was like how people usually were and they couldn't see things like that at all.

Thinking of that put a horrible taste in her mouth.

As they passed by an alley, the red device in Taiki's hand let out a few, halting notes. Hikari paused and peered into the gloom. As Taiki followed her, the gentle notes grew louder. Tailmon's ears went up and she moved from Hikari to the concrete, tail curling lazily in the air.

Then something leaped out and lunged towards them. Tailmon spun on her front paws, kicking back. Her tail hit something metal with a loud clang. She turned and bounded after the sound of a yelp. There was another clang of metal followed by a loud shriek. Tailmon made a hissing sound and Hikari raced over to them.

"Tailmon?"

Tailmon padded towards the sound of her voice. "It's okay, Hikari, I disabled him."

Akari reached into her picket and lit up a flashlight. A furry Digimon laid on the ground, whining in pain and rubbing his armored head.

"That was a tough hit..." he mumbled. "Who are you guys?"

"We should be asking you that," Tailmon said, tail lashing. "You're the one who attacked."

It huffed and moved to one knee. "Course I did, you came over here, didn't you?"

Hikari sweatdropped. "Um..." This was getting nowhere fast. She looked over at him, and at the blade that was gripped tightly in his other hand. "Who are you?"

"I am Spadamon!" the Digimon declared, straightening to look at her. "I am an apprentice to one of the protectors of the Digital World, the Royal Knight UlforceVeedramon-sama!"

The humans looked puzzled, but all of the nearby Digimon froze. Shoutmon burst out of the Xros Loader.

"What the hell is a _Royal Knight_ doin' all the way out here?"

Spadamon smiled. "We are here to end the war, of course!"

Hikari couldn't help but think this was a little _too_ convenient.


	13. The Leftover Army

13\. The Leftover Army

Wizarmon lifted his staff for light the further they walked. Spadamon was scurrying ahead, babbling to Shoutmon in excitement about armies and war. They had barely waited long enough for Akari to send Koushiro a message update before Spadamon dragged them off, unnoticed by civilians, into what was apparently the secret hideout.

The more time she spent with Spadamon, the more Hikari couldn't help but think of Takeru.

"A Royal Knight being stuck down here… seems like a bit of an insult," Tailmon mused to herself.

Spadamon, however, did catch it. "We know! But this place is so tiny and cramped! Out in the open, he'd be caught! So we roped off a broken looking spot with the yellow tape. Nobody looks even though it's all fixed and shiny."

"Nobody looks," Hikari repeated under her breath. Tailmon looked down at her but Hikari smiled it off. Akari watched them both from behind.

Spadamon didn't seem to hear. Instead, he hopped behind a curtain. "Master! We have visitors!"

There was a squeak of alarm. "Spadamon!" it hissed. "We aren't supposed to have guests."

"But they can fight!"

"So what?"

Spadamon rolled his eyes. "Lunamon, don't be such a stick in the mud. They're here to help against the Bagra Army! There were Digimon and humans working together. You've heard the master, they can't be that bad."

A pause. "Humans? You sure?"

Spadamon let out an earth-splitting groan. " _Yes."_

Another moment of silence passed before a small lion carried a torch into view. His blue eyes glowed sheepishly in the dark. "Sorry," he said, scratching behind his head with one paw. "We have to be paranoid, you know. They see us, we could end up in a petting zoo. Or worse!"

"What the heck is a petting zoo?" Shoutmon muttered.

Taiki snorted. "I'll tell you later."

"Come on," hissed the Coronamon, scrambling down. "We can't keep him waiting! He gets stiff if he's still too long."

"Who?" Hikari asked, something in her feeling oddly warm. Something knowing the answer before she even asked.

"Visitors?" The answer had a voice that boomed, and a lighthearted bounce to it that made her shoulders loosen their unconscious hunch.

They keep walking, further and further until there was a crumbling ceiling, a spacious sewer area, and a giant dragon knight taking up over half of it.

"Well crap," Kiriha says. He's grinning, the manic look a bit like Piemon and a bit of his own general craze. At least he's honest.

There's a pregnant pause and Hikari thought the Digimon were looking at the boy like he had sprouted two heads, wings, and a chibi stare.

Then the Royal Knight roared with laughter.

"Master," squeaked Spadamon. "Your dignity!"

The man only laughed harder. It took a few minutes for him to calm. Then he moved his head in their general direction. "Can you blame me, Spadamon? The mouth on this one! I haven't had a reaction like that in centuries!"

"Even so, master..." A small rabbit Digimon looked torn between stress and fond exasperation. "These children sought us out for a reason."

The dragon man sobered. "Indeed." The change brought an instant gloom into the already uncomfortable sewer. "Indeed you have. Why have humans come down here?"

They all look at each other. Then, Taiki, looking uncomfortable, raises his head. "We want to resolve the War in the Digital World."

Kiriha snorts and Taiki shot him a disparaging look.

The knight only sighed. "It has not ended yet?" He shifted, making the ground shudder. "These wars still continue. How depressing. Gone back all of this way, into all of this time. And yet..."

"Sir?" Hikari's voice was small, even shaky. "What's wrong?"

He raised his snout towards her. "You are a Chosen One. So you must understand. These words are deeply intertwined. What heals one heals the other, and the opposite. Surely you understan what the power of the human heart can do."

Hikari's fingers closed around Tailmon's wrist.

The dragon man nodded. "Yes, you do. This is the war on the decision of the human heart. And it all starts with the prophecy of Homeostasis."

The word, the name, it throbs. And then Hikari is falling. Not physically, but mentally, into a great, painful light.


	14. What's in a Person

14\. What's In a Person

Taichi barely slams the phone down into its cradle before he's back out the door. He had just stopped to get a water bottle before going back to meet the others and his sister's up and passed out and something is wrong. This is why he should have gone with from the get go. He needed to protect her and he just kept failing. Well it was going to stop, somehow, some way. He didn't know what it would take but he would do it.

For a moment, a gentle throb of pain filled his chest. Taichi stopped walking, frowning in puzzlement. Then he took off at a run, diving deep into Odaiba. Around him, the air ripples and his Digivice beeps. He doesn't stop but does almost trip at the sound of familiar large feet racing after him. He looked behind him and a smile lit up his face.

"Agumon!"

"You called, Taichi?"

That big dinosaur grin lifted his spirits right up. "You betcha. Let's go kick tail and save Hikari!"

"All right!" What's the point of questioning this? His family's in danger!

They made it to the heart of their city when the ground exploded. A great blue dragon burst from where the sewer pipes had been, Hikari clutched in one hand and sewer water spraying everywhere. That was an ultimate level… at _least_. What was it doing with his sister?

Taichi reacted as only a true leader of the Chosen Children could. "Hit him, Agumon, distract him!" He charged forward.

If it were anyone else, they would have facepalmed. But Agumon understood Taichi better than Taichi. He fired a great burst of flame. The Digimon didn't even turn but the heat on his armor made him pause. He yelped comically, shaking his foot. Hikari swayed in his grasp and started to stir.

"Master, calm down!" shouted a tiny lion as it crawled up through the rubble. Taichi paid no attention to the others climbing after him.

"But my foot's on fire!" the digimon protested. He shook it off and sighed. "I don't need that along with everything else." He turned his head about and down until it was staring in Taichi's general direction. "Actually… that's kind of a familiar feeling! I wonder wh-"

"Master!" shrieked the lion as Hikari slid from his large arms. The knight righted her quickly and paused. His nostrils, if he had any under there, flared.

"Taichi?"

Taichi stiffened. Okay, his name was not all that common. "Who are you?" he shouted instead. "Put Hikari down now!"

"Onii-chan, he's okay," he heard Hikari shout but paid no attention. The blind eyes went over him and rooted him to the spot.

"Taichi?" repeated the knight. "It is you, isn't it Taichi?"

Taichi shook his head absently. "Who… are you?"


	15. Where Everything Intersects

"All right, can we have some idea of what's going on?"

Taiki sometimes agreed with Kiriha, not very often, but sometimes, and it was those times that they worked together best. This would be one of those times.

They had managed to find a new place to hide after UlforceVeedramon (Shoutmon was still muttering to himself about that one), had broken the concrete and now they were all attempting to figure out what in the world had just happened.

UlforceVeedramon sat cross-legged with Hikari in his lap, Tailmon in hers. It would have been even more strange if the girl didn't look completely comfortable, like she was usually there every day. Taichi was on their right, twitching with confusion and big brother instinct. Taiki recognized it in Akari all of the time. No wonder.

UlforceVeedramon exhaled. "In my time, in what is clearly, your time, the Digital World is at war, right?" At some point, his voice had loosened, and he sounded much happier to be this informal.

Kiriha nodded. "And the Bagra Army is currently winning." His mouth curled with amusement and Taiki resisted the urge to knock his brain around in his skull. His ego trip wasn't helping anyone.

"Then not much has changed." Spadamon's voice quavered with exhaustion. "When we were last in the field, it was much the same. We had more comrades, but..."

"The Royal Knights are scattered now, most likely," UlforceVeedramon continued. "But if Bagramon is still waging this war and hasn't simply ended it, that is possibly a good sign."

Koushiro had been called and made his way over. His eyes had fixed on Agumon with envy and utter bafflement but now he was focused on UlforceVeedramon. "Because it means his position hasn't changed?"

UlforceVeedrmon nods. "Exactly! The Bagramon I knew, the one who ruined my eyes, he was always wavering in his decisions, on the idea of an all consuming right path. So he would search and search and when his own searches failed, he decided to go to war." UlforceVeedramon chuckled. "He is a very determined sort of being. If we weren't constantly at war, I would like to talk to him. He reminds me of someone I knew." His head turned in Taichi's direction, nostrils flaring slightly. "Like you do. You remind me of my best friend."

Taichi shifted. "Agumon is my best friend." As he spoke, the yellow dinosaur perked, rubbing at Taichi's arm. "And I don't want anyone else either!" At that outburst he paused and grinned to himself. "Though it's cool that I make that much of a good impression."

Hikari giggled.

UlforceVeedramon smiled fondly for whatever reason. "Indeed. Now, the next thing to do is focus on getting back to continue the battle."

"I'm not sure about that." Taiki's quiet declaration was met with multiple stares. He, thankfully, did not shrink down. "We were sent back to this time space, or at least we came here to learn the reasoning behind this war and how maybe we can stop it. We have some ideas, but nothing concrete. I don't think our mission is clear yet."

"Ours wasn't either," Taichi said quietly. "Not for a long while. By the time we knew exactly what we had to do, we were all in. Ain't it the same for you?"

Taiki smiled grimly. "Yeah, but people are dying. My comrades are dying. If I can get more information to create strategies where that will happen less, I want to."

Kiriha scoffed slightly and went ignored.

Hikari watched her brother slowly nod. Then Koushiro let out thoughtful sound. "Hikari-san, do you remember what attacked you last night?"

Hikari nodded. "A shadow monster with lots of eyes. It said… it said humans brought about the end of the world… and that for some reason it didn't want me to interfere." She had heard that before too…

Koushiro nodded. "Then this is related to you." He licked his lips. "Uhm… Taichi-san, could you come here a moment?"

As the two of them spoke quietly, Hikari felt her stomach churn. Not even Tailmon's warmth could fix that.

They didn't need a white witch. So they were going to kill her, maybe? What magic had she performed back then?

And then, she remembered. Just like when she saw Tailmon, she remembered the steady glow of lights.

"I am Homeostasis," she heard from a dream. "Please, help us all."


End file.
